Ouroborus 2
by calladragon
Summary: Just the original, predictable sappy ending for Ouroborus posted as an OS since we all know that Carney Wedding is going to be the end when it's done.


A/N: Sorry it's taken a while for anything to show up here. This is something predictably sappy that's been on my hard drive for a while. The original ending.

On to other business, I managed to pull a muscle in my right shoulder a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, work aggravates it and pain and writing do not go well together. I'm sorry for the delay; but, I am working on StS and O when I feel up to it.

Added to that, between those two stories and a couple of chapters here and there you've already read, I've written in excess of 300,000 words in 5 months (including a good bit you haven't seen yet) which means I'm mentally exhausted. My longest novel was 140,000 words and that took me 7 months to write the rough draft and I wasn't working as I am now.

Why am I telling you all of this? To ask that you stick with me on StS and O a while longer- I am working on them. It's just taking me a lot longer than planned for reasons I didn't anticipate and I don't want to toss total garbage up here to be posting something. Rough drafts are bad enough!~Calla

########

Coming around the corner knowing Lisbon could see his shadow if she couldn't quite see him, Jane stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't help laughing out loud as the sight before him was much too funny.

His stupidly daring son was on his knees making an impassioned grab for the shiny tow truck in his sister's hands. And his sister was giving her brother that same cold look a junk yard dog gives a thief before pouncing for the jugular. If Jane didn't miss his guess, his golden boy was about to get exactly what he deserved for trying to hijack his darker haired sibling's truck.

And that, he suspected, was how it was always going to be.

Patrick was going to be cerebral and sneaky like his father and his daughter, well, what could say? His precious Ash was going to be very practical and very physical like her mother. Right was always going to be right and she'd act accordingly.

Shaking his head, Jane could already see his offspring playing similar roles to their mother in law enforcement with a little less rigidity when it came to his son. Or, perhaps, Patrick would become an Artist or a Magician instead. Lisbon would never countenance him being a con though he'd be masterful once he learned to calculate the consequences of his actions a little better. And Aislinn, maybe she'd become a dancer or a professional athlete instead of a supervisor like Madeleine Hightower.

Somehow Jane doubted it.

They'd both end up with a gun by their side.

He could feel it in his bones. Leaning against the wall and staring at his lovely bride, he decided that was okay. It truly was. Their Mom had turned out all right once he'd gotten her to relax a little. Actually, she was better than alright. She'd proven to be that elusive second chance. The one he'd known he'd never get as those things only happened in movies and fairy tales.

That love of his life so very different from the first but no less intense or special.

Besides, from his perspective, one could never have too many cops in the family. They tended to come in handy considering the kinds of scrapes he got into. Not that he'd have that much choice if that was the way the wind blew. His offspring were Baby Janes and they already had minds of their own. He had little doubt they always would.

"Jane you can stop your hiding. It's not like I don't already know you aren't going to do anything to stop Armageddon." Lisbon watched him slink around the corner to stand behind her knowing if he touched her she'd bop him good for a whole lot of different reasons.

"I'm not hiding, My Dear." Jane leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I'm observing."

"Yeah, well, observe some other time." Lisbon demanded. "Now's more of an action motivated moment."

"Relax, Teresa, all they're doing is rough housing as siblings do." Jane rubbed her arms reassuringly. "It's perfectly normal."

"Yeah, maybe it's normal if they were a couple of puppies which they aren't." Lisbon corrected him as she watched Patrick make one more thinly disguised grab for that tow truck much to Aislinn's displeasure. "Patrick Jane, when your sister let's you have it, don't come crying to me." Lisbon resisted the urge to throw something at her gregarious twenty month old son before her equally gregarious twenty month old daughter punched him in the nose with all of her might. "I mean it."

Rising to her feet and pouring a glass of juice, Lisbon shot her sniggering husband a withering look knowing full well what was about to happen if Patrick continued trying to steal Aislinn's toy. He had his doll to play with. Well, he had what used to be Aislinn's doll until he'd commandeered it as payment for her having commandeered his favorite big wheeled, bright red tow truck. Resuming her seat after settling the kettle on the eye, she watched the drama unfold before her deciding her husband was completely useless.

As much as Jane doted on his children, he wasn't the best of baby sitters. He tended to find amusement in the craziest things. Things she'd put a stop to immediately. Things like what he called "establishing the pecking order."

Aislinn was definitely ahead in that as Patrick was well "pecked" and had the bruises to prove it.

While Jane never let their babies hurt each other too badly, he definitely let one or the other make their point before he intervened. Lisbon wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the surface, she didn't think she liked it. Not one bit. She honestly didn't.

"When the crap hits the fan, you're cleaning up the mess." Leaning into her husband's arms, she made her dark declaration knowing she'd never move fast enough to stop her dark haired imp from seriously damaging her fairer haired brother.

"They'll be fine, Lisbon." Jane reassured her contemplating the likelihood of drawing back a nub if he reached out to rub her burgeoning belly.

Lisbon was twenty two weeks into her second pregnancy and the unseasonable heat was really getting to her. Well, the heat and watching their kids at play which tended to get a little bloody at times. It didn't help that she carried twins yet again. How they'd managed that one, he didn't know and wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

What they did know was there weren't twins on either side of the family.

That truth being said, they'd argued the alternate theories. Perhaps it had something to do with having fraternals already. Perhaps it was related to Lisbon's age. Or perhaps it had something to do with hyper ovulating. He wasn't sure. But, Lisbon was. And she loved to share her suspicions every chance she got.

It was that damned Jane gene. She knew it was so…all of this was _his_ fault.

Jane wasn't sure exactly how she'd reached that goofball conclusion. It certainly wasn't based on science. Or even pseudoscience he didn't think. But, in the end, all that mattered was she had.

Truthfully, their predicament might have more to do with the fact she'd mentioned in passing one night she'd like to try adding to their brood in, oh, say a year or two while they still had time. She'd like to round it out with another boy although another daughter would be okay, too. And sandwiching this baby's conception in between the twins' second and third birthdays would be perfectly fine. Or even a bit later. They'd be far enough along in their development she could handle having three. Being the equally perfect husband, he'd readily agreed.

Whatever his Lisbon wanted, she could certainly have.

She'd not been pleased to figure out a couple of months later she'd been _had_ all right and she'd blamed him ever since.

Watching his wife sipping her juice as she studied Patrick and Aislinn playing on their spotless kitchen floor, Jane smiled as he made a cup of tea. He'd not gotten her logic then and he didn't now. _He_ wasn't the one in charge of the birth control. Lisbon _was_. At _her_ insistence which, with hindsight, seemed to have been a mistake. She'd probably have been better off just letting him be a sneaky bastard instead of an innocent bystander.

He probably could have insured their timing was more in keeping with her desires. Or, with the right incentive, he might have at least tried.

Then again, from his perspective their situation was hardly a blunder. He couldn't wait to add to his family. Children were great. They made him feel alive again. If that wasn't enough, he loved a pregnant Lisbon. She was amorous, soft, and cuddly…When she wasn't biting his head off and threatening to kick his butt.

What could he say?

Sometimes a man had to live dangerously.

When she'd unexpectedly attacked him with the hated sticks in hand, he'd done his best to comfort her. To help her get her mind settled comfortably around the idea their family was growing sooner rather than the later she'd planned. It really wasn't that big a deal. They were reasonably young, healthy, financially stable, married, crazy in love, and they'd always intended adding to their family eventually. Big whoop she'd gotten busy with a couple of particularly nasty back-to-back cases and forgotten to pop her pill a few times….

That was the moment his mouth wrote a check his ass couldn't pay.

Or so Lisbon immediately told him in just those words.

He'd been so busted.

Yes, he had noticed in passing that there were too many pills in the package though he honestly hadn't been checking. He'd been getting something out of the lavatory drawer. He couldn't remember exactly what anymore; but, it was something for her. He was sure of that. He wouldn't have gone nosing in _her_ drawer if he hadn't been. Not that either of them really believed that; but, considering the degree of poop he'd just stepped in, the argument sounded good to his ears.

In the end, his Honey hadn't really cared about the specifics. It was the part where he hadn't told her what he'd discovered that she was up in arms about. If he had, she could have corrected the oversight hopefully before it was too late.

As it was, he didn't give her that chance.

It hadn't mattered he'd pointed out she'd already been pregnant when he'd first discovered her oversight. So, in reality, it didn't make any difference whether he'd told her or not. Lisbon hadn't believed him. Even though, for once, it was true and they both knew it.

He remembered very clearly the night he'd opened that drawer. They'd had Minelli and Mae over for dinner to pay them back for babysitting the Squirts so they could have a romantic evening alone. Lisbon had the date circled on her calendar. It was clearly at least two weeks _after_ the probable date of conception Emily had given them.

Lisbon hadn't cared.

She'd still refused to sleep with him for a couple of weeks after that.

Other than his wife's imaginary just cause for being hot under the collar, he might have added fuel to the flames by frequently reminding her there was no good reason to cut him off as she was already thoroughly knocked up. As there was no such thing as a "little bit pregnant" and he couldn't get her with child again, making them both miserable simply didn't make sense. Jane rolled his eyes at the thought that argument had been a brilliant move on his part. In case he'd forgotten, it hadn't worked that well the first time around.

It didn't this time either.

Jane smirked self deprecatingly at the thought he'd learned one very valuable lesson: If he'd ever thought riling an angry Lisbon was fun, it wasn't. She tended to verbally bite and it didn't feel good. He still had the scars to prove it.

Once they'd eventually made it past that hurdle, he'd found himself back in the doghouse a few weeks later after the sonogram from hell revealed their litter of one was actually two. To say he was stunned was an understatement. His wife's reaction, he'd rather not recall. Lisbon was not pleased at the prospect of having four Baby Janes under the age of _three._ Not when she'd wanted to add _one _when her other two were three or four.

Instead of blaming serendipity or the God she believed in, his wife had blamed _him_. As if he had super squiggles who could tame the Universe! Snorting at the thought as he put his tea cup away, Jane just shook his head at how ridiculous an otherwise bright, perfectly sane, no nonsense female could be when the mood, and the pregnancy hormones, struck.

The only saving grace was Lisbon hadn't been anywhere near as ill this time around. Her aggravating, but not overwhelming, morning sickness had disappeared completely six weeks ago meaning Lisbon was well on her way towards gaining that whopping thirty-five pounds Emily wanted her to and it suited her.

Having gained a substantial amount of the entire weight she'd put on over the course of her first pregnancy already, Lisbon's softly rounding belly was magnificent. Magnificent and healthy in a way she hadn't been before. As much as she'd griped about how it had come into being, his wife was enjoying this pregnancy as much as he was. As they'd both agreed it would be their last, Jane was glad they were having such a positive experience to remember.

"Jane, honestly, if you don't get your son, I'm going to beat both of you." Lisbon's voice drew Jane out of his thoughts just in time to swoop Patrick out of range before he got brained with the very truck he was trying to steal.

Handing his son to his wife, Jane reached down to scoop his daughter off the floor. Snuggling his nose in her Lavender scented hair, he found having Aislinn in his arms made his past memories of a different Lavender scented female not as painful as they'd been in the past. In fact, it was him who'd brought the Lavender scented baby shampoo home in the first place. Lisbon had raised a questioning brow; but, he'd reassured her everything was fine. He would be okay and he was. Maybe one day, he'd be all right with the scent of Strawberries and Cream as well.

"This one is all yours, Jane." Lisbon said as she kissed her son's head. "He doesn't know when to give up."

"Actually, I'd say they're both mine." Jane leaned over to drop a kiss on her lips. "I made them."

"I'd say it took both of us for that; but, if you want to take full credit, be my guest." Lisbon did what she always did when the kids were being a handful.

Reminded him exactly which side of the family _that_ trait came from.

It certainly wasn't hers.

"Oh, I'll take credit for all of them." Jane agreed not at all put off by his offspring's mischievous ways as he contemplated the inherent risk in rubbing her beautifully blossoming belly.

"Don't even think about it." Lisbon growled knowing his intent. "You'd be a lot smarter if you started packing that cooler instead of standing around calculating the odds of surviving a belly rub. For the record, I will kill you exactly as you think...slowly, painfully, with my bare hands and without of a gun."

"In that case, let me put these two back down." Jane plopped his daughter back on the floor by her truck before settling his son in the play pen with a stack of blocks. Things would go a whole lot smoother if they had a little down time between them. Besides, they were both freshly scrubbed and dressed for company. Lisbon really would kill him if they got all messy again. "Are you sure you even want to go today? It's going to be hot. We could stay home and play instead."

Lisbon rolled her eyes in disgust. Stay home and play indeed. Jane had a very natural fascination with her rounding belly and larger breasts that made her want to beat him off with a stick at times. This was one of them.

Other times she was more than happy to go along with his insanity which usually meant when they didn't have somewhere else to be and the kids were safely snuggled down in their cribs. As neither was the case now, Jane knew better than to make such a suggestion…Tempting though it might be.

"We promised a long time ago and confirmed last night, so yeah, I want to go." Lisbon agreed somewhat reluctantly. "Minelli hasn't seen the rugrats in a couple of weeks and I know he wants to talk to you behind my back. Get the latest juicy details about all of this." Lisbon rubbed her belly lost in thought.

Her Boss had a vested interest in these two and he was nosey in ways he hadn't been the first time around. She suspected Jane was feeding his obsession with sonograms and daily updates far more intimate than she wanted shared. Those two spent entirely too much time together at work for her comfort. She had no doubts Minelli knew exactly how much weight she'd gained right down to the nearest ounce if not more embarrassing details.

Not that she could really complain about her pregnancy.

She hadn't been nearly as ill and she wasn't nearly as tired as she'd been with her first two. Since she knew what to expect, things were so much easier than before. Oh, and they didn't have a deranged Serial Killer lurking in the shadows. There was definitely something to be said for that.

On the downside, Jane was every bit as aggravating as he'd been the first time around; but, that was to be expected. The man went into overprotective nut job mode at the first hint one of his squiggles hit home. Or, in this case, two, as they were having fraternal twins again. As for doing her job as she should, she could forget that. He didn't even like her interviewing suspects. Not without good reason in some cases though she hadn't bothered responding to that demand when he'd voiced it. She was so doing her job and interviewing perps came with the territory.

However, that last one she'd had a little talk with last night had given her pause. The freak was a humdinger. He'd been much too fascinated by her tummy for Rigsby and Cho's comfort though they'd all done what they needed to do before her guys had shuffled her out of there. It seemed bug-eyed Eddie had a thing for pregnant women. As in he enjoyed killing them. Lisbon had known that; but, Jane hadn't. Not until way after the fact.

Jane still wasn't all that happy with her for pulling that one.

Lisbon didn't see the big deal. She had a job to do and she'd done it. Eddie had been adequately restrained, she'd had her guys with her, and they'd all been armed. She'd gotten the confession they needed in a matter of minutes thanks to a little DNA irrefutably linking Eddie to his last kill. In Lisbon mind, all was well that ended well. End of story except she still heard that creepy voice in her dreams, and probably would for a while, which was a small enough price to pay for putting a lunatic behind bars.

On the upside, they were rounding out their family exactly as she'd wanted but never believed possible. In a handful of months, her job would be done and she was crazy thrilled about that. Jane was too. Who'd have thought they would have three boys and a girl just like the family she'd grown up with? Not her. That was a dream she'd never contemplated. Somehow, she thought her parents would be pleased that she was doing what they hadn't been able to.

Raising her family with two loving parents as they'd wanted to.

She'd even finally convinced Jane that one of their sons should be named Alexander. Michael Alexander Jane. Not so much in remembrance of his father; but, more as a tribute to the man he could have been…Had he made other choices and chosen different paths…The more wholesome paths she was sure their son would take.

She'd make sure of it.

Their second son would be Virgil Phillip Jane after his doting "Granddad." That was the cause of Minelli's even stronger grandfatherly obsessiveness. He couldn't wait to hold his namesake in his arms. Lisbon couldn't wait for it either. That photograph would be priceless. She and Jane had agreed that Minelli would hold him first once he was cleaned and prepped for visitors.

Even before his Mom or Dad.

Jane was equally thrilled they were having two boys; but, not for the reasons Rigsby thought. He wasn't remotely interested in beating his chest or proclaiming his virility in fathering three boys. He already loved his sons because they were_ his_ and for no other reason. And because having three _sons_ meant he didn't have to share that special bond between a father and his daughter. Daddy's Little Princess remained Daddy's _only_ Little Princess and her brother's were Mommy's Boys. Not that he would have minded having another daughter. He wouldn't have.

He would have loved her every bit as much as Aislinn.

But, now, he didn't have to.

"Hey, Buddy, if you don't get your head out of the clouds and back on track we're going to be late." Lisbon tossed a balled up napkin at Jane knowing exactly what he was thinking about when he got that happily glazed look on his face.

Rising to her feet she took a step in his direction in that dreaded silent threat every wife knows how to give so well.

"Right. How long do you think it takes to toss some sodas, juice, and hot dogs in a cooler and some buns and chips in a bag anyway?" Jane smiled as he proceeded to respond to Lisbon's unspoken threat saying if he didn't just get it done already, she'd happily do it for him.

"There better be steaks in there." Lisbon's tone was deadly as Jane waggled the white wrapped package in her direction.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" He wouldn't get any for a month if he left Lisbon's precious steaks in the fridge.

Fortunately, that wasn't happening as he had everything he'd need within easy reach.

"Sometimes I wonder." Lisbon answered honestly after twelve years together in some capacity or another. "I'm going to get the kids' bag from upstairs. Why don't you get the stroller and put them in it when you're done."

Jane knew exactly what his wife was really saying. She wasn't going upstairs for anything but swinging by the little girl's room and checking her make-up one last time. The kids' bag was already in the stroller and they both knew it. Setting the small cooler on the counter top by the bag loaded with chips and treats, he gave his daughter one last glance to make sure she was happily playing in place before stepping into the hallways to fetch the double stroller.

Lifting Aislinn, he carefully sat her in her seat and fastened her in getting the same look he always got letting her doting Daddy know exactly what she thought of being hogtied to metal and plastic. Lifting his boy from the pen, Jane carried him across the room to join his sister. Watching his Daddy buckle him in, Patrick gave him the same smile he usually did conveying, unlike the sour puss in the duo; he liked riding in his royal carriage. It made him feel like the little prince he knew he was.

He just wished he had a pony pulling it instead of his Dad pushing it.

Looping the bag over his shoulder before taking the cooler in his left hand, Jane leaned on the stroller as he watched Lisbon meandering down the stairs. She never took nearly as long as most women did to get ready and she always looked beautiful. The emerald top she wore had the simple lines Lisbon favored and, surprisingly, a tasteful touch of bling on the neckline as did the back pockets of her matching denim shorts very reminiscent of an alter ego she'd played once upon a time. Her hair was down in the softer style he liked and she was wearing a glitzy pair of sandals.

He wasn't sure; but, Jane thought she might channeling shades of Amber and the effects were breathtaking. His wife was lovely. Perhaps he was biased; but, what could he say? When he'd fallen, he'd fallen hard. His opinion hadn't changed in the three years they'd been together and he didn't expect it to change any time soon. He was a very lucky man.

"You ready to go?" He asked as he wrapped his arm around Lisbon's shoulders.

"Yeah, what about you?" Lisbon grinned a little at the thought she'd never get totally used to the fact Jane wore a three piece suit everywhere.

It was actually kind of strange when she stopped to think about it. It always had been. But, on the flip side, if he didn't, he wouldn't be Jane. Besides, he looked yummy in his suit and she really liked getting him out of it. So, he wasn't going to hear any complaints from her.

"What do you think?" Jane quirked a brow at her.

"I'd say yes." Lisbon leaned up to kiss his cheek as if to say she was a very lucky woman.

"Then let's go." They had a half hour in which to get to Minelli's and a twenty minute drive ahead of them.

Leading Lisbon towards the door, Jane hoped nothing got in theire way or they'd be late. Not that anyone would really care. He certainly wouldn't. It was just that his wife had this thing about punctuality. She actually liked to be on time. She was always early if possible. He honestly didn't get the point.

Being fashionably late had always made a far more memorable statement to Lisbon. She remembered every time he'd been late in their upteen years of acquaintanceship and frequently reminded him of them.

From Jane's perspective, why tamper with a good thing?

Honestly.


End file.
